LONDON – Silent movie “The Artist” had a night to shout about Sunday, winning seven prizes including best picture at the British Academy Film Awards.

Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars rewarded the French homage to old Hollywood over a homegrown favorite, spy thriller “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”

“The Artist,” a black-and-white picture that has charmed audiences around the world since its Cannes debut in May, was named best picture, and its rubber-limbed star Jean Dujardin took the male acting prize. Its filmmaker, Michel Hazanavicius, won prizes for directing and his original screenplay.

Another homage to early cinema, Martin Scorsese’s Parisian fantasy “Hugo,” took prizes for sound and production design.

John le Carre adaptation “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” went into the ceremony with 11 nominations compared with 12 for “The Artist” but won just two prizes, for British film and for adapted screenplay.

The British prizes, known as BAFTAs, are considered a strong indicator of likely success at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, to be held Feb. 26.

The trophies give more momentum to “The Artist,” which has already won three Golden Globes and has 10 Oscar nominations.

Dujardin, who plays a silent screen icon eclipsed by the talkies, said the appeal of “The Artist” lay in its accessibility.

“It’s a simple story,” he said. “It’s a love story. It’s universal. And there’s a cute dog” – Jack Russell terrier Uggie, who almost steals the film from his two-legged co-stars.

“The Artist” also won prizes for cinematography, costume design and for Ludovic Bource’s sprightly musical score.

As predicted, Meryl Streep was named best actress for her depiction of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister, in “The Iron Lady.”

The film also won a well-deserved prize for hair and makeup.

The supporting actor prize went to Christopher Plummer, as an academic who makes a new start late in life in “Beginners.” Octavia Spencer was named best supporting actress for her turn as a fiery maid in Deep South drama “The Help”

Scorsese received the BAFTA Fellowship, a lifetime achievement prize, for his “outstanding and exceptional” contribution to cinema in films including “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.”